May 01, 2014

Clintons still strong in Arkansas

PPP's newest Arkansas poll finds that the Clinton brand is still pretty strong in the state. Bill Clinton has a 55/37 favorability rating there, and Hillary Clinton leads all but one of the leading Republicans there in hypothetical 2016 match ups despite the state's recent Republican lurch. Clinton leads Jeb Bush 46/41, Rand Paul 48/42, and Chris Christie 47/38.

The one Republican Clinton trails is Mike Huckabee at 47/44. Huckabee is the overwhelming choice of home state GOP voters to be their candidate for President in 2016- 38% say he would be their pick to 14% for Ted Cruz, 13% for Rand Paul, 10% for Jeb Bush, 4% for Chris Christie, 3% each for Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan, and 2% for Cliven Bundy. 39% of voters in the state want him to run to 46% who say no but that's more home state desire for a Presidential bid than we usually see and among Republicans 62% want Huckabee to put his hat in the ring to only 22% who say he should sit it out.

Other notes from Arkansas:

-Voters in the state side with Democrats on a couple of key issues that have cropped up in the Senate recently. 56% support increasing the minimum wage to $10 an hour, compared to 36% who are opposed. More than 80% of Democrats support it, and so do 34% of Republicans. 52% support the Paycheck Fairness Act to only 23% opposed, numbers driven by the sentiment 92% of voters in the state express that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. Only 5% say they disagree with that.

-Arkansas reflects what we find in most southern states when it comes to attitudes about rights for same sex couples- voters don't support gay marriage but they do at least support legal rights in the form of civil unions. Only 27% of voters in the state support gay marriage to 63% who are opposed. You can see the wheels turning though- while seniors oppose gay marriage 18/74, voters under 30 actually support it 53/32. When you broaden the discussion to civil unions 54% of voters support some form of legal recognition to only 41% opposed to any at all.

-We polled on a couple of things that Arkansas is well known for throughout the nation and found one is very popular while the other gets more mixed reviews. Walmart has a 64/24 favorability rating in its home state with Republicans (77/18) and Democrats (56/29) alike giving it high marks. Public opinion on the Duggars is split though with 26% rating them favorably and 26% unfavorably. Republicans (38/16) like them while Democrats (16/32) don't.

-There's not much division about where Arkansas' college sports loyalties lie- 51% of voters in the state say they're Razorback fans to 13% for Arkansas State, 7% for Central Arkansas, 6% for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and 5% for Arkansas-Little Rock. Razorback fans are taking a wait and see approach when it comes to their feelings about Bret Bielema- 42% say they approve of the job he's doing, 16% disapprove, and 42% haven't formed an opinion. It's going to be a while before Bobby Petrino repairs his image with the school's fan base- only 29% of fans have a favorable opinion of him to 46% with a negative one. Mike Anderson is in good standing with 58% of fans approving of his work to 14% who disapprove.

-Finally we find that when it comes to pro sports Arkansans go for the Cardinals and the Cowboys. When it comes to MLB loyalties 31% are Cardinals fans to 8% for the Rangers, 6% for the Braves, Cubs, and Yankees, 5% for the Royals, 4% for the Red Sox, 2% for the Astros, and 1% for the Angels. When it comes to NFL loyalties 31% are Cowboys fans to 11% for the Broncos, 8% for the Packers, 6% for the Chiefs and Saints, 3% for the Seahawks and Titans, 2% for the Rams, and 1% for the Texans.

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